umm....the subject is my question
Yes I am a total n00b and was wondering about the "head" Where is it, what does it do, how does it do it? If one was to obtain one, is it possible to DIY in ur home garage or must it be taken to a shop? Any suggestions as for a good type of head to get?
these q's are for a 98+ integra GSR

Also what are the costs involved? thx
-Brian

 

The cylinder head sits on top of the block. It's the thing directly below your valvecover that the intake and exhaust manifolds bolt to. No one really sells aftermarket Honda heads outright, you usually send your head off to get ported or machined. Pulling and installing a head isn't hard, but it may be a little more than you can handle if you're a "n00b." Typical headwork costs about $900 just for the labor, not including removing/installing the head.

 

hmm...interesting
so what does it mean to be ported or machined? wow $900 is a lot....do u guys think it's worth it?

 

Well, if you go to WWW.IMPORTBUILDERS.COM you can find "aftermarket heads" in you price range :rofl: but yea, they are definitly worth every penny. You can typicaly gain 100 HP from a race built head with a stock motor (Agressive port and polish) and more if its got some mean cam shafts! The site I linked you to sells heads FULLY BUILT which means you pick one for a 1.8 liter B18C1 (the motor in your car, and a great one at that) Buy torque bolts (just tell the guy at the dealership what kind of car you have and he will get them) And IF you feel comfortable, slap it on. If you dont feel comfortable you can have the guy at the dealership do it for you, but its verry simple. All you kneed is some wrenches a torque rench and a HELMS manual. Start with a HELMS manual, you can learn ALOT from one of those.

 

Import Builders' prices do not include a head, you have to send yours in or you can buy a B16 head from them for $650 and ad the cost of the headwork to that. You can get some good gains from headwork, but I doubt you'll see anything remotely close to 100hp just from headwork, regardless of what cams you run. I'm not sure what you mean by "torque bolts", but I'll assume you mean ARP head studs.

 

100 hp from a port job? You are absolutely fvcking INSANE. Not even on a fully built race motor will you see anywhere near 100hp. Maybe a port and polish and add an 80 shot to get to 100hp.

 

BTW, are you actually looking to have your head machined professionally, or are you just curious? It sounds like you heard someone talking about heads and you just want info...

To help clarify what the head is, if you look at your motor, notice where the exhause manifold bolts up to the motor (exhaust manifold is commonly refered to as a header). If you are standing infront of the car, where you see "DOHC VTEC" on the valve cover, the exhaust manifold is between you and the motor. Look just below where that is bolted on and you will notice where the two main halves of the engine are brought together. The head is the rectangular shaped (basically rectangular) part that is above that line, and the block is everything below.

Also connected to the head is the intake manifold. Its the big grey thing between the motor and the firewall. You can see your fuel injectors and everything else hooked up to it.

If all this is too basic, forgive me, you said your a noob...

 

Oh yeah, what the head does...

Main parts in the head: Camshafts, valves, valve springs, valve retainers, spark plugs...

Air is pulled into the motor via the intake manifold. I will explain what happens in one cylinder... As the piston (in the block) pull down, your camshafts open up valves that allow air to come in (intake side). When the piston reaches the bottom of its stroke, the camshaft shuts these valves. Now your cylinder is full of air, and is completely sealed (because the valves are all shut. There are two sides for the valves. Intake and exhaust) The piston then rises and compresses the air and fuel mixture into a pretty small area. When that reaches the top of its stroke, and maximum compression, the spark plug ignites the fuel and air, shooting the piston downward. After the piston reaches the bottom again, and starts to come up, the camshaft opens up more valves (exhaust side) to let the exhaust leave the motor. The exhaust gasses pass through ports in the head, through your exhaust manifold (or header) through some piping, and them out your muffler.

The main role of the head in all this is to open and close the valves, controlling when air is let in and out of the cylinders.


This will do a great job explaining...
http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm

 

Not necessarily true. For hondas it is true, but the cylinder head is nothing more than the combustion chamber cap to the cylinder. After all, flat head Fords and Briggs and Stratton 5HP blocks don't have valves in the head

 

there is a pretty nice head on ebay for around 2400...its fully built though..cams retainers etc but its 2400 but will probable add 50 hp alone then a 100 shot on top of that..correct me if i wrong

Drew